


The Darkness of Dreams

by Kendrickhier



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Comfort, F/F, Insomnia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:33:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25595833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kendrickhier/pseuds/Kendrickhier
Summary: Alex breaks into Astra's room through her window at night, and finds her awake.
Relationships: Astra/Alex Danvers
Comments: 20
Kudos: 74
Collections: Kendrick's Fics: Supergirl





	The Darkness of Dreams

**Author's Note:**

  * For [littlelamplight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlelamplight/gifts).



> A (slightly belated, it's still the 29th in my timezone dangit) happy birthday to you! I don't know what happened, I wanted to do a slice of life married type fic, instead I ran into a prompt and this happened. I hope you enjoy?

2.53am: Astra lets the sounds of the city wash over her, as she often does. It’s relaxing in a way that sleep hasn’t been ever since she was removed from Krypton; the fortress had made sure of that, most of the horrors focused on the mind rather than the body. So instead of wasting her time on night terrors, she focuses her mind on the mundanity of reality.

There’s a decent amount of traffic still at this hour: about a mile to the north someone is most certainly going past the speed limit, creating a minor disturbance that has at least two others use that infernal horn of theirs, and a woman that yells after them, as if the driver would ever be able to hear her. They keep on driving, but that appears to be the only ruckus caused.

A few blocks further, a small group of young drunk adult humans, heartily singing a song together, if one could classify it as such. Melody was lacking entirely, and none of their rhythms matched one another, leaving a cacophony of just plain noise. Cheerful noise at that, but noise nonetheless.

And then, right outside her window, a disturbance that no longer blends in with the sounds of the city as something regular. There’s a scraping sound coming from below, something firm rubbing against the outside the wall, and then a grunt of exertion, followed by a soft thud on the floor on the other side of her bed.

Astra simply rolls over, facing the figure that is still recovering from their rough entrance through the window. She watches almost passively, despite her amusement as she sees them try to get to their feet as quietly as they can, rubbing the side of their face with a pained expression.

Until they lift their head and freeze upon seeing Astra watching.

An eyebrow raises. “Resorting to trespassing now, are we, Alexandra?”

Alex huffs, shooting Astra a glare she knows is about using her full name. “You’re not the only one that can come in through the window.”

“Clearly.”

Alex takes a moment to brush off some of the dirt the wall left on her, before she looks back at Astra. “Why aren’t you asleep?”

“I don’t sleep. I rest.”

Alex’s brows knit together, and for a moment she simply looks at her with something between confusion and contemplation. “What do you mean you don’t sleep? Kryptonians need sleep as much as the rest of us humans – like it or not, your superiority complex doesn’t change the fact that our brains are wired almost identically.”

“Be that as it may, the sun wards off my sleep deprivation symptoms. Resting takes care of everything else.”

“But-“

“Why are you here, Alex?” Astra interjects, unwilling to dive into the specifics of just why she prefer to avoid sleeping altogether. It’s a conversation for another time, when there aren’t other matters to discuss first. Perhaps not a conversation to be had ever, or maybe with one of those infernal ‘psychologists’ Kara’s partner keeps wanting to set her up with.

(Probably never.)

With a sigh, the fight leaves Alex quickly. “I just, I don’t want to be alone right now.”

At that Astra softens and lifts the part of the covers in front of her invitingly. It’s all the prompting Alex seems to need, taking off her shoes the only thing between her and climbing in bed the very same moment. When they lay face to face, Astra doesn’t hesitate to reach out and embrace her - it’s not just Alex that benefits from it, both of them relaxing into the touch.

A couple of minutes pass before Astra speaks again. “You realize you wouldn’t need to use the window if you lived here.”

A scoff. “I wouldn’t need to come to your tiny apartment at all if you lived with me instead.”

“Your apartment isn’t much larger than mine.”

“No, but at least it’s made to house two people. I swear they made yours for a single person with a cat or something.“

“We could always look for a different apartment together, between the two of us I’m certain we could afford a place that could house both us _and_ that potential cat.” Or a future child, her mind supplies helpfully. It doesn’t require mentioning right now.

The third option only serves to make Alex sigh, and Astra doesn’t have to guess to know why: their relationship is not public knowledge as of yet. No one’s bothered (or dared) to ask, and while they don’t go to extraordinary lengths to keep it hidden, they have no intention of bringing it up themselves. And okay, maybe they _do_ sneak around a little when it comes to the more overt aspects of a relationships, such as sleeping together, or any form of PDA.

“We’ll have to tell her eventually,” Alex says, needlessly. They both know it’s going to be strange for Kara. They didn’t ask to fall in love – quite the opposite in fact: Alex had been determined not to like her very much, in lieu of her display of a lack of morals and tendency towards terrorism, and Astra had only intended to rejoin Kara as family, which would have to include Alex. Who made it clear she didn’t want to be family. So she’d tried to go with distance.

But that distance didn’t last, clearly. The more they tried to push away from each other, the more the universe seemed to push them together, until sparring to work out the frustration towards each other turned into a different kind of frustration relief.

Even then they tried not to give into it, but one time turned into three times, and three times into twenty seven, and it became clear that there was no use trying to resist. They gave a relationship a try.

Alex would later reveal she only gave it a try to get it out of their system, fully anticipating a nasty fall-out that never came. Instead they only fell more for each other, and now here they were, sneaking around a clueless Kara that’s thrilled they were finally getting along. Astra is certain they don’t have everyone fooled however, and she has to wonder about whether or not Eliza has picked up on it, but so long as Kara is blissfully unaware it hardly matters.

“Do you want to tell them?” comes the inevitable reply, which only results in Alex burrowing into her with a distasteful noise. They do this dance every so often, and as is usual, Astra obliges her and pulls her in closer.

When Alex lifts her head enough to be audible when she speaks, Astra knows exactly what’s coming. “No, not yet. Tomorrow.”

A hum cements their decision.

They won’t bring it back up tomorrow. They never do.

It’s only a matter of minutes before Alex dozes off into that blissful oblivion of hers, and Astra watches her sleep. The serenity of it is infectious, calming her own mind in turn, all senses attuned to Alex. Her smell, mixed with the smell of the outside, but her smell nonetheless. The sound of her breathing and heartbeat. Her warmth, so different from the sun’s, yet just as pleasant. The warmth in her own heart as she watches the woman she loves.

It’s enough. Astra slowly drifts off, and while she still doesn’t have pleasant dreams, she will not need to bathe in the sun to compensate; Alex by her side, that’s enough to ward off the darkness.


End file.
